Planning to play an expensive game like Star Wars: X-Wing miniatures on the cheap

X-Wing Miniatures is an expensive game. There’s no way to spin it. A starter giving you 3 miniatures and only 3 attack/defense dice definitely tells you that you need more than one copy to get your full value from the game. But how can you do that? Here’s a few simple steps that my officemates and I took to make sure we can get the most bang for buck:

1. You need a group. If you buy everything on your own lonesome, you’re going to shell out a LOT of cash. At least you need one other person to share with you when you’re buying stuff. For a bigger group, having each person controlling 1-2 ships in a game will make sure the cost would be further reduced.

2. 1 core set per player minimum. With one other person, you’ll already have 2 X-Wings and 4 TIE Fighters among you. That’s enough for a fuller gameplay experience already, plus you’ll each be having your own templates and dice so the game will go on smoother.

3. Plan your expansion purchases. Having 6 X-Wings can be exciting, but you’ll never get to field all of them when you’re playing a 100 point game. If one dude wants to buy a Y-Wing, you get an X-Wing, etc. Try not to buy duplicates if you can. A starter and 2 expansions each will provide a lot of squad building options. 2 of each expansions can give you a lot to play with, but you’ll never get to play with ALL of them on the table. Remember it’s getting the most plays out of your stuff as much as you can.

4. Plan a purchase timetable. This game ain’t cheap. And your goal is not winning an arms race as opposed to playing other CCG or other miniature games. Most of the stuff are meant to be shared. So have a consistent plan with your mate(s) when you want to branch out and get more expansions. Control your expenditures and build your way up painlessly. If you guys are planning to go on a tournament, have each person pick an opposed side.

5. Play! Nothing invites more stress in a shared purchase endeavour than to buy and NOT to play with your shiny new toys. Carve the time to play with your mates at a considerable pace. You want to play as much as you can because you’re excited, but you don’t want to shelve it too fast because you got bored of it either. Have a weekly/bi-weekly campaign with a campaign map and take turns in creating scenarios for the game day. Keep it fresh.

Just my two cents on the matter. Think about it. You don’t have to be the one buying EVERYTHING if you like the game.